When i was in Bangladesh in 2000, I was told that the country was so poor due mostly to the fact that they don't have any exports. I was also told that they had plenty of land to plant, but they didn't cultivate the land very effectively. Since that time, I have wanted to learn how to garden. I don't have a very green thumb, but I'm going to give it my best effort. Plus, I just love fresh veggies and fresh herbs for cooking.
My friend, Tara, told me about the All New Square Foot Gardening book by Mel Bartholomew. He uses a super mix of ingredients in the soil that enables you to plant in a smaller space. The ingredients are compost - to keep plants nourished, peat moss - to keep soil moist and vermiculite - to keep soil airy. So, the idea is that with these 3 components, roots don't need to go as deep. Therefore, the garden is only 6" deep! The garden can include a bottom which means it can be made anywhere (on a veranda, patio, deck, roof for those overseas or in cities, etc.) The other cool thing about this garden is that you can grow vine crops vertically saving heaps of room using a simple trellis.
I decided to construct the box out of plastic fencing due to the fact that I built it against the house (don't want termites!!). I'm doing a 2'x8' with 16 squares. Here is what I'm planting... tomatoes (round and roma), cucumbers, peppers (red and green), yellow squash, corn, oregano, basil, chives and some flowers to keep the bugs away. Pretty impressive, hey?!
I'm looking forward to seeing the garden grow and flourish. Maybe someday, I can use this design overseas. YUM!
